Material handling apparatus



July 17, 1962 R. H. JAMISON, JR

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 9, 1959 l NVE NTOR Richard H.Jomison,Jr.

YWZ/

ATTOW July 17, 1962 R. H. JAMISON, JR 3,044,640 7 MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed July 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Richo rd H.Jumison, Jr.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice Patented July 17, 1962 3,044,640 MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Richard H. Jamison, .lru, 11 Woodland Ave, Greensburg, Pa. Filed July 9, 1959, Ser. No. 826,078 3 Claims. (Cl. 214-83.36)

This invention relates to material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus, and more particularly to mine apparatus for storing coal received at a nonuniform rate and for discharging the stored coal onto a conveyor or the like at a substantially constant rate.

Although not limited thereto, the present invention is particularly adapted for use in coal mining operations where a continuous mining machine, for example, discharges coal into a succession of shuttle cars which travel from the mining machine location to a continuous belt conveyor system which transports the coal to the mouth of the mine or to main line hauling cars. Ordinarily, the shuttle cars empty directly onto the belt conveyor system. However, due to the fact that the conveyor has only a limited capacity, the coal in the shuttle cars must be gradually discharged onto the conveyor at a controlled rate over a relatively long period of time, the obvious reason being that if the capacity of the shuttle car is three tons, for example, the discharge of its contents in less than one minute onto a conveyor having a capacity of about three tons per minute will result in excessive spillage over the sides of the conveyor. In

the example given above about one minute will be re- 9 quired to discharge the contents of the shuttle car onto the conveyor without spillage; however, shuttle cars, regardless of whether their capacity is three tons or fifteen tons can be designed to discharge their entire contents in as little as fifteen or twenty seconds. It is thus apparent that the operation of shuttle cars as outlined above greatly limits their performance over that which could be expected if they could discharge their loads at the maximum rate.

In a coal mine there may be three or more mining locations each having a mining machine or the like together with shuttle cars which discharge onto a conveyor. The branch conveyors from each mining location then empty onto a main conveyor which transports the coal to the mouth of the mine. Normally, the capacity of the main conveyor is not great enough to simultaneously handle the maximum capacity of each of the branch conveyors leading to mining locations. That is, since the contents of the shuttle cars at the various mining locations are intermittently discharged onto the branch conveyors, it is assumed that the various branch conveyors will discharge onto the main conveyor at spaced intervals so that the capacity of the main conveyor is not exceeded. Since, however, the various mining locations are separated and not in communication with each other, instances occur when'the loads from the various mining locations exceed the capacity of the main conveyor and cause spillage and/or possible damage to the conveyor belts. As will be understood, it is highly desirable to provide means for controlling the rate of discharge of the various branch conveyors to prevent the possibility of an overload on the main conveyor while at the same time providing means which will permit the shuttle cars to discharge their loads at the maximum rate.

Although the foregoing discussion has been more or less confined to instances where shuttle car transportation is employed at the face areas of a mine, it should be understood that the invention also has utility in other applications. For instance, in many mines that employ conveyor belts for transportation of material, the invention may be inserted into the conveyor system at a point where two or more branch belts empty onto one main belt for delivery to the tipple facilities. In this case, the device would receive and store the surges from the branch conveyors and deliver the combined product to the main belt I at a predetermined and controlled rate that would at all times be within the rated capacity of the main belt.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus which will discharge material such as coal onto a conveyor belt or similar device at a constant and controlled rate.

Another object of the invention is to provide material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus in which material from a shuttle car, for example, may be intermit tently fed into a receiving and storage hopper at ahigh rate while material may be discharged from the hopper at a lower and relatively constant rate.

As will become apparent from the following detailed description, the invention comprises an elongated hopper having a relatively wide material receiving and storing portion defined between outwardly sloping side walls, and a communicating delivery portion -at one end thereof. The delivery portion is provided with a discharge opening defined between the ends of side walls or bafile plates which converge inwardly from the side walls of the first portion. At the bottom of the hopper is an endless flight conveyor for moving the material toward and through the aforesaid discharge opening. This conveyor terminates in an upwardly inclined section ahead of the discharge opening to facilitate loading of the material onto an elevated conveyor belt or the like. In accordance with the present invention, a flexible barrier comprising one or more flexible chain members are connected between the ends of the aforesaid converging baffie plates and extend across the discharge opening above the conveyor to regulate the flow of material through the opening. It has been found that if the length of the chain members is greater than the width across the discharge opening whereby the chains will bow outwardly in the direction of material movement, all of the material stored in the hopper will be forced to travel under the chain members and none will topple over the chains regardless of the height of the material in the material receiving and storing'portion of 'the hopper. Thus, since the conveyor is moving at a constant speed and since the chain members are positioned at a fixed height above the floor of the discharge opening, the material will flow through the discharge opening under the chain members at a constant rate. In addition, since the chain members are flexible and may be readily displaced, exceptionally large pieces of coal or other material will merely force the chains upwardly without breaking them 'or causing the material to jam at the discharge opening. In this manner, shuttle cars, for example, may be rapidly discharged into the material receiving and storing hopper while the previously received material from the shuttle cars is discharged onto a conveyor belt at a constant rate.

'The above and other objects and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side View of the material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIIlI of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus shown includes a pair of channel members 10 and 12 fastened together in spaced relationship by means of a plurality of tubular members 14 which are welded or otherwise securely fastened to the respective channel members. Sloping outwardly from the top of each channel member and 12 is a side wall 16 or 18 which is supported on its associated channel member by means of gussets 20. Preferably, the gussets are welded to the side walls and channels, respectively; however, any fastening means may be used for. this purpose, depending upon requirements. Supported on top of the tubular members 14 is an elongated floor plate 22. This floor plate, together with sloping side walls 16 and 18, defines a material receiving and storing hopper having an entrance end 24 where the contents of shuttle cars or the like may be discharged into the hopper. At the opposite end of the hopper is a discharge opening 26 defined between the ends of a pair of side walls of baflle plates 28 and 30, which converge inwardly from the side walls 16 and 18, respectively. Side boards, not shown, may be hinged to the tops of side walls 16 and 18 to increase the capacity of the hopper.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the material receiving and storing hopper between side walls 16 and 18 is broken along its length, it being understood that the length of the hopper is many times its width. It will be noted that the side walls 16 and 18 do not extend throughout the length of channel members 10 and 12. Rather, the forward ends of the channel members are provided with a pair of vertically extending side walls 32 and 34. These side walls, together with floor plate 22, define a trough on the exit side of discharge opening 26. The extreme right ends of the channel members 10 and 12 carry an axle 36 which supports an inclined conveyor section 38 for vertical swinging movement. As illustrated, the conveyor section 38 includes a pair of channel members 40 and 42 which are connected together by means of separated tubular members 44 as were the channel members 10 and 12. The conveyor section 38 also includes a floor plate 48 together with a pair of vertically extending side walls and 52 which extend upwardly from the channel members 40 and 42. The channel members 10 and 12 are supported by spaced wheels 49 and 50 which rotate at the opposite ends of an axle 51; and the bottom of conveyor section 38 is provided with a welded skid assembly, generally indicated at 46, whereby the apparatus may be transported over the mine bottom.

Positioned at the extreme left end of channel members 12 and 14 is a conveyor foot shaft 54 for a pair of sprockets 56 and 58. Similarly, a conveyor head shaft 60 is carried between the extreme right ends of channel members 40 and 42 and is provided with sprockets 62 and 64, both of which are keyed thereto. Movable around and between sprockets 56 and 62 is a conveyor chain 66; and, similarly, another conveyor chain 68 moves around and between the sprockets 58 and 64. As will be understood, only one sprocket is keyed to shaft 54 to compensate for any out-of-phase condition of the chains. Secured to chains 66 and 68 and extending therebetween are a plurality of box-shaped flights 70, each of which comprises a bottom plate 71 having a pair of side plates 72 and 74 extending upwardly therefrom. It can be seen in FIG. 1, for example, that as the chains 66 and 68 move in a clockwise direction, the flight connected between the chains will slide along floor plate 22 in the material receiving and storing hopper as well as floor plate 48 in the conveyor section 38. The return reaches of chains 66 and 68 travel along plates 76 and 78 on the bottom of the assembly, substantially a shown in FIG. 3. Actually, plates are also provided above the chains as they travel along floor plate 22; however, these are not shown herein for purposes of simplicity.

Th side walls 50 and 52 of conveyor section 38 have supporting blocks 80 and 82 aflixed thereto. Pivotally connected to the side blocks are a pair of supporting bars 84 and 86 which are connected at their ends opposite the blocks 80, 82 to shafts 88 and 90. These shafts extend through openings in an inverted U-shaped structure comprising vertical I-beams 92 and 94 interconnected at their upper extremities by a third I-beam 96. Secured to the ends of shafts 88 and are plates 97 and 98. In this way spacer plates or shims 100 may be inserted between the plates 96, 98 and the I-beam 96 to adjust the angular position of the conveyor section 38. Means, schematically illustrated at 101, are connected to the shaft 60 at the forward end of conveyor section 38 to forcibly rotate sprockets 62 and 64 and drive chains 66 and 68 in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1.

Secured to the innermost ends of baflle plates 28 and SO are opposite ends of a pair of chains 102 and 103 which extend across the discharge opening 26. Both chains are longer than the width across discharge opening 26 whereby material passing through the discharge opening will force them to bow outwardly. Obviously, the height of the lower chain 102 may be adjusted to suit requirements; but, in general, it will be positioned far enough above the conveyor to permit material stored in the hopper to pass thereunder. The distance between the respective chains 102 and 103 must be such as to prevent material from passing through the space between them. This distance will, of course, depend upon the size of the coal or other material in the hopper. That is to say, when the material is fine, the distance between the chains will be reduced to prevent it from passing through the space between them; whereas, when the material is coarse, the distance may be increased. Furthermore, although two chains are employed in the embodiment of the invention shown herein, it should be understood that the number of chains used depends upon requirements. In some cases a single chain may sufiice, while in other cases three or more chains may have to be used, depending upon the height of the material in the hopper. Also, a chain meshwork may be extended across the discharge opening above the conveyor, the important thing being that a flexible wall is provided above the conveyor to hold back the upper portions of the material stored in the hopper.

In operation, shuttle cars or the like will discharge their contents through opening 24 into the material receiving and storage hopper defined between side walls 16 and 18. The material in the shuttle cars may be discharged as rapidly as desired, and as chains 66 and 68 move forwardly, the flights 70 will force the material to the right as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Since the shuttle cars will discharge into the material receiving and storage hopper intermittently and possibly at different rates, the height of the material in the hopper will vary along its length; and in most cases the height of the material will be above the height of chain 103. If the chains 102 and 103 were not presentin the discharge opening 26, the rate of discharge through the opening would be uneven and uncontrolled. That is, the amount of material passing through the discharge opening would depend upon the amount of material in the hopper. When, however, the chains 102 and 103 extend across the discharge opening 26 in accordance with the present invention, material such as coal in the hopper will be forced to travel under the chains at a constant rate regardless of the height of the material in the hopper. The material will not tend to force its way through the chains, since the conveyor creates an undertow which drags the material along the bottom of the hopper and under chain 102. The upper portions of the material merely move into abutment with the chains and stop. If an exceptionally large piece of coal should pass through discharge opening 26, it may have a height greater than the height of chain 102. Due to the fact that the effective wall formed by the chains is flexible, however, they will merely move upwardly and permit a large piece to pass thereunder without jamming and consequent possible damage to the apparatus. It is of utmost importance that the chains or other restriction be flexible to permit such large pieces to pass thereunder without jamming. The weight of the chains 102 and 103 must, of course, be great enough to achieve thedesired result; and this weight may best be determined by experiment.

From the discharge opening 26, the material is conveyed between side walls 32 and 34 to inclined conveyor section 38 and then onto a belt conveyor, generally indicated at 104, which transports the material to a main conveyor leading to the mouth of the mine. By employing the apparatus of the present invention the discharge rate of the conveyor 104 will, of course, be constant; and since the discharge rate of the material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus at other mine locations will also be at a constant rate regardless of the rate of discharge of the shuttle cars, an even flow of material is assured to the main conveyor to eliminate spillage and other undesirable effects. With the present invention, a differential of as high as 12 to 1 can be achieved between the rate at which material is received in the hopper from shuttle cars and the rate of discharge through opening 26. For example, material may be received in the hopper at the rate of 36 tons per minute or more while the material may be discharged under chain 102 at a rate of only three tons per minute or less. Thus, the shuttle cars may discharge their contents into the hopper in a much shorter time than that previously required, resulting in a faster turnaround time per shuttle car and vastly increased efiiciency of operation.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a certain specific embodiment, it Will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In this respect, it is apparent that cables or other flexible members could be substituted for the chains illustrated herein, and the term chain-like member is intended to include such other devices.

I claim as my invention:

1. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising upwardly extending side walls and a floor defining a material receiving and storing hopper having an open discharge end, an endless conveyor movable along said floor for discharging material through said open discharge end, and at least one flexible device having its opposite ends connected to the respective side walls for regulating the discharge of material through said open discharge end, said device extending across said open discharge end above the conveyor but below the maximum height of material stored in the hopper whereby material transported by said conveyor will be forced to travel under the flexible device at a substantially constant rate.

2. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising upwardly-extending side walls and a floor defining a longitudinally extending material-carrying compartment having an open discharge end, an endless conveyor movable along said floor for discharging material through said open discharge end, and a plurality of chain devices having their opposite ends connected to the respective side walls and extending across said open discharge end above the conveyor whereby material transported by said conveyor will be forced to travel under the chain devices, said chain devices being longer than the distance across said open end whereby they will bow outwardly in the direction of movement of material through the open end and permit relatively large pieces of material to pass thereunder, the height and spacing of the chain devices being such that substantially all of the material in said compartment will be forced to travel under and not over or between the chain devices.

3. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising upwardly-extending side walls and a floor defining a longitudinally extending material-carrying compartment having an open discharge end, an endless conveyor movable along said floor for discharging material 6 through said open discharge end, and at least one chain memberhaving its opposite ends connected to the respective side walls and extending across said open discharge end above said conveyor, said chain member having a weight suflicient to force material thereunder as it passes through said open end, the length of said chain member being greater than the distance across said discharge end whereby it will be bowed outwardly as material passes thereunder.

4. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising a material-receiving body having a relatively wide material-receiving portion defined between outwardly sloping sidewalls and a communicating delivery portion at one end thereof, said delivery portion having a discharge opening defined between the ends of side walls which converge inwardly from the side walls of saidtiirst portion, an endless conveyor having a run underlying said material-receiving bodyuand extending throughout. the length of the body tor' moving material toward and through said discharge opening, said conveyor terminating in an upwardly inclined section ahead of said discharge opening, and a plurality of chain members having their opposite ends connected to the respective ends of said converging side walls and extending across said discharge opening above said conveyor whereby material in the material-receiving body will be forced to travel under the chain members at a substantially constant rate as the conveyor moves, the height and spacing of the chain members being such that substantiallylall of the material in said material-receiving portion will be forced to travel under and not over or between the chain members.

5. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising a body having a relatively wide material receiving and storing portion defined between side walls I and a communicating relatively narrow portion also definedby side walls, a continuous conveyor arranged to move along the bottom of said wide portion and extendture of the wide and narrow portions, the arrangement being such that material stored in the wide portion will be conveyed to the narrow portion under said flexible devices at a substantially constant rate, the height and spacing of the flexible devices being such that substantially all of the material in said receiving and storing portion will be forced to travel under and not over or between the devices.

6. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising a body having a relatively wide material receiving and storing hopper defined by longitudinally extending side walls and a communicating relatively narrow trough also defined between longitudinally extending side walls, a continuous conveyor arranged to move along the longitudinal length of the bottom of said hopper and extending along the length of said trough whereby material stored inthe" hopper will be conveyed through the trough, bafile plates for guiding material from the hopper into the trough, and at least one flexible device extending across the width of said body above the conveyor and positioned between the hopper and the trough for regulating the amount of material passing from the hopper to the trough, the ends ofsaid flexible device being connected to the respective side walls between the hopper and I the trough.

7. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising a body having a relatively wide material receiving and storing hopper defined by longitudinally extending side walls and a communicating relatively narrow trough also defined between longitudinally extending side walls, a continuous conveyor arranged to move along the longitudinal length of the bottom of said hopper and extending along the length of said trough whereby material stored in the hopper will be conveyed through the trough, and a plurality of chain-like members extending across said body above the conveyor and below the top of the hopper between the hopper and the trough, said chain-like members being such that they may bow outwardly in the direction of material movement, the arrangement being such that material will be forced to travel under the chain-like members as it is conveyed from the hopper to the trough regardless of the height of the material stored in the hopper above the chain members.

8. Material receiving, storing and delivery apparatus comprising upwardly extending side walls and a floor defining a material receiving and storing hopper having an open discharge end, an endless conveyor movable along said floor for discharging material through said open discharge end, and a flexible barrier having its opposite ends oonnected to the respective side walls for regulating the discharge of material through said open disa charge end, said barrier extending across said open dis charge end above the conveyor whereby material transported by said conveyor will be forcedto travel under the flexible barrier at a substantially constant rate, the height of said barrier being such that material in the hopper will not pass thereover in appreciable amounts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,220,736 Emery Mar. 27, 1917 1,450,851 Gross Apr. 3, 1923 2,670,836 Ball Mar. 2, 1954 2,698,l04 Dudley Dec. 28, 1954 2,770,377 McCallum Nov. 13, 1956 2,837,194 Ross June 3, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 20, 1930 

